This is not a Quantum of Solace Bashing thread.
Please don't see this thread as an opportunity to bash Quantum of Solace, whatever you may think of it, thanks.
_____________________________________________________________
One of the major issues I have with Quantum of Solace, is the running time. I don't know why the hell Marc Forster insisted on having a short movie. It just scratches the surface Imo.
If I were director, I would firstly bump the movie too around 2 1/2 hours, and include the following things:
Sort out the Shaky Cam.
All the fights should me more brutal. Bond should get bruised, and bloody. They should feel like they hurt. Like Casino Royale.
Show Greene's plans more, how he plans to deprive Bolivia of the water supply.
Make Mitchell, Villiers. It would've been a lot more personal.
Extend the Interrogation Sequence by around 5 minutes. Make White more menacing, have him taunt Bond over Vesper. And set up QUANTUM in more ways than just "We have people everywhere!"
Extend the scene with Bond and M in Villiers' flat and the scene in MI6. It would be revealed that Villiers was the one who sent on information to Le Chiffre, and got Mathis imprisoned.
Space out the action more. For instance, before the fight with Slate, maybe show Greene actually killing his 'best Geologist', thinking he betrayed him. Would be great to see Greene introduced there, rather than stamping paper...
See Bond sorting himself out after he kills Slate, not use quick cutting. See him stand up after killing Slate, out of breath and looking angry. A Kind of homage to the PTS fight in Casino Royale.
Have a stealth sequence, where Bond investigates the dock, and listens into Greene + Camille's conversation. Maybe Medrando's as well. I could see a great sequence with Bond on the roof, just crawling along, following Greene. No action, just stealth. Then have Bond disappear after Camille gets kidnapped. The he turns up on the bike, leading into the boat chase.
Have the boat chase as it is, just show Bond trying to interrogate Camille, avoiding gunshot's etc.
Include more scenes of Greene and Elvis, Greene especially. He had the potential to be a brilliant villain, but he's criminally underused.
Show Greene pissed off over the loss of Camille, announcing that she has to be stopped before she reveals anything. Show him planning to meet up with Quantum members at the Opera, too.
Have Bond beat up one of Greene's guards at the Opera, and steal his tuxedo. Have the scene play out in the most Bondian fashion.
Have Greene set up a meeting with White and demand to know more about 'the guy who ruined the operation', referring to Bond. White tells him how he ruined Le Chiffre's plans and lost Vesper. This allows Greene's line of "Everything he touches seems to wither and die" to have more meaning. This should happen probably after the Opera sequence.
Show more of Bond and Mathis. Extend the plane sequence, and allow Mathis explain to Bond what exactly a Quantum of Solace is.
Include a scene with Bond, Mathis and Fields walking around the street's of Bolivia, Have Fields explain how bad the poverty is, and make reference to the water shortage.
Make Greene's fundraiser the night after they arrive, and have Bond, Mathis and Fields sit down to dinner at the hotel restaurant on the evening before. This allows character development, especially for Fields. Maybe have Fields ask Bond about his past relationships, Bond goes silent.
Have a short scene with Felix, Beam and Greene. Greene saying it's a possibility that Bond will show up at the Fundraiser.
After the scene where Bond pulls Fields back down on the bed, show Bond, Fields and Mathis traveling to the fundraiser. More character development.
Show more of Felix at the fundraiser. Maybe have them talk in a secure location, Felix requesting Bond to leave for his own safety. Bond then goes up and rescues Camille.
Have Fields explain that herself and Mathis will both work on finding out about Greene's operations, as Bond and Camille go off to see The Tierra Project. This explains Bonds line, "Ms Fields showed true bravery, I want that mentioned in your report"
Show Fields and Mathis leaving the fundraiser together, arm in arm, after Bond goes off with Camille. Show both of them getting spied on from a car.
Completely cut the Free-Fall sequence, have Bond and Camille bow out of the plane, just as it touches the ground. Maybe have Bond and Camille land in the lake? Have a bloody Bond dragging out an unconscious Camille and lying her on the ground. Bond sits down, in pain?
Show Greene getting a phone call announcing that Bond and Camille are dead. Show Greene smiling creepily. Elvis asks Greene is they should get rid of the other two, referring to Mathis and Fields, Greene agrees.
Have Camille mention that her scar was caused by the house fire in her speech. Bond then goes onto talk about Greene creating a drought.
Cut to of Greene's guards walking up the stairs in the hotel. They split up, 3 head to Fields' room, 3 head to Mathis'. The scene cut to Fields, she is about to fix herself a bath. After she finishes running the water, she hears a knock on the door. She walks out of the bathroom, with a towel round her and goes to answer it. As soon as she opens the door, Greene's guards run into the room, she lets out a loud scream.
We cut to M and the Foreign Secretary here.
After Bond and Camille escape from the Sink Hole, have Bond inform a villager of the lake. It always wondered me why the miserable bastard didn't bother telling them. (If you watch the movie, you can see him considering it. "Shall I, Shall I? Shall I... NAH!)
Have Bond find Fields body before M enters the hotel room:
Something along the lines of this...BOND walks up the stairs and along the landing, untill he comes to his hotel room. He slowly opens the door. Nothing. He walks into his room, slowly and suspiciously. His room is too quiet.
BOND: Fields?
BOND continues walking, His head turns sharply, and he walks towards the bedroom door. Once there, he takes a deep breath and opens it.
The site before him is shocking. FIELDS is on the bed, covered completely in oil. The room itself is quite tranquil. A light breeze is blowing the curtains slightly. The room doesn’t appear to be in that much of a mess. Only a few magazines and a broken lamp on the floor.
BOND runs to her aid.
BOND: NO. Fields? FIELDS!?
He checks her pulse – Nothing. He runs his hand over her face, gently, and rises up from the side of the bed. His breathing increases in anger. BOND leans out of the window, to get some air. He sees many black vehicles pull up outside, people get out of them and head in the hotel. He turns to leave, takes one last look at FIELDS, then walks out of the bedroom.
Just then, we see many armed guards enter the room, M leading them in. The Guards look around the hotel room.
After Bond escapes the guards in the elevator, Bond runs into M, she informs him that there's a capture or kill order out on him. He dodges guards and goes to Mathis' room, finding him barely alive. He catches M in the corridor and tells her to tell the CIA that she saw him leave the hotel. Allowing Bond to get Mathis out safely. Bond rings Camille, and asks her to bring the car round the back of the hotel. Camille arrives in a black SUV, not the small car in the finished movie. Bond takes the wheel, and asks Camille if they're any hospitals around. Mathis is wincing in pain in the back seat. Bond is forced off the road by some bent police officers, and Mathis is shot.
Bond cradles Mathis in his arms, and he dies. We see Bond carry Mathis into the hospital, and gently put him in the arms of a Doctor. Asking him to take care of him. Bond gets back in the car, and says that everything will soon be over, and he has a contact that can fix everything.
Bond then contacts Felix, and requests a meet. The bar scene will be longer, allowing more character development for Leiter. The action sequence is great, so I'll leave it in. Bond meets up with Camille after he escapes the bar, and explains everything.
Have a scene with M and Tanner. Tanner tells M that Mathis has died, and according to Leiter, Bond is on his way to Bolivia.M: Get him back up, he's on to something
Tanner: But Ma'am, the CIA....
M: I don't give a about the CIA, or their trumped up evidence. Bond is my agent and I trust him. Leiter, besides being CIA, is one of Bonds closest friends, even though Bond doesn't know it. I trust him, too.
Have the finale play out as normal. BUT, show Bond interrogating Greene about QUANTUM.
Instead of being in the car when Camille and Bond part ways, Bond will be walking with Camille to the train station. This is due to the fact that Greene's interrogation will be in the car, I don't wish the audience to become to claustrophobic.
As Camille walks away, we see a saddened look on Bonds face, as the scene fades to Russia.
We see a scene with Bond and Yusseff, right after the original film fades out. We finally see Bond get his revenge. Whatever that may be.
The end scene plays out as normal. Bond walks off, throwing the necklace in the snow. The scene fades out, and we Crawl, End, Crawl, as the credits roll.
So guys, that's how I would direct Quantum. I deliberately moved Mathis' death to give it more emotional impact.
Before I get my head ripped off for this, may I say that I really enjoy Quantum. I just think it's a bad sequel.
Anyway, how would you change Quantum of Solace? What scenes would you add? How would you make it better, if you want to?
Discuss.